I have some news I’d like to share with you today.  Two years ago, the National  Institute on Media and the Family’s board of directors started strategic discussions about the organization’s evolving mission and goals.  The current challenging economic environment accelerated those discussions.  As a result, the Institute’s board of directors made the decision to [...]

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Have you ever noticed when a car honks or a whistle blows, everyone around turns to stare?  It’s like we’re hard wired to stop, stare and pay attention.  Well I think that’s what the media’s like in our lives — we’re going about our daily stuff and then “Wwwhheeewww” goes that whistle, and the media [...]

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So it’s almost halloween and I have violence on my mind.  Really you can hardly go anywhere or turn on the tv without some ghoulish face staring you down, a blood coated dagger in its hand.  But the violence problem I want to talk about came in the form of a warning from the American [...]

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Of course you do.
The bottom line?
Self-discipline = Success.

Research proves it.  Self-discipline is twice as strong a predictor of school success as intelligence.  But kids don’t naturally learn this — especially in today’s consumer culture.  It’s up to parents to help develop this critical trait.
That’s why the National Institute on Media and the Family created Say [...]

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I’ve been talking about Disney’s Baby Einstein videos for years.  Parents across the country leave the hospital toting these videos in hopes of setting their children up for a lifetime of success — so much so that 28% of babies under 2 now have televisions in their bedrooms.  However, screens don’t make babies smart, caring [...]

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Because they can have it all right now, so why not?
I listened to a webinar put on by YPulse last week – Ypulse is a youth marketing and research organization and their web site flashes ads with things like “Connecting Brands with Youth”. Now, I have to add my disclaimer here that I don’t like [...]

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Have you ever taken a moment to contemplate Prime Time? I guess I hadn’t ever really done it, except to think about the shows that qualify as prime time and the ones that don’t, until a recent conversation with a colleague got me thinking.
A number of years ago, she and her husband consciously [...]

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Ever had a kid challenge one of your rules?
Or do you ever feel like your child goes off to school or a play date and returns home seeming to have received some expert technical training on “how to manipulate my parents” from their friends or who knows who else?
Access to information – and being bombarded [...]

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President Obama stood in front of thousands of students last week and asked them to “put your best effort into all that you do.” He challenged them to take the personal responsibility, to set goals for their futures, and to be accountable and put in the hard work it will take to reach those goals. [...]

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Whether your kids have already started school or the opening day is next week, now’s the time to make smart media rules and put your child on the path to school success.
And sometimes, we don’t give their impact much thought.  TV, the Internet, videogames, music…all play significant roles in how we spend our time.  To set [...]

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